JEDDAH, 17 November 2004 — A committee comprising officials from the Ministry of Labor has concluded that work ethics training is essential for the Saudization process to be successful. The panel recommended that the courses should not be shorter than 10 days and not exceed two weeks.
Representatives of many commercial sectors demanded that the training should be made obligatory for all Saudi job seekers in the private sector. Saudi youths must be introduced and familiarized with work ethics so that they are able to not only find jobs but also keep them. These sectors have begun coordinating with private and government establishments to arrange for these work ethics training courses to get under way, especially after the committee’s conclusion.
“Qualifications and credentials or even knowing the right people may get them the job; in keeping the job, hard work and commitment are the keys. We’ve got to deal with lack of punctuality and lack of consistency all the time. It’s as if they’ve never heard of such things,” said a supermarket floor manager.
“Everyone keeps blaming us for preferring non-Saudis. They accuse us of only wanting to pay low-salaries,” said businessman Abu Omar. He said that he had built his company from scratch through hard work, commitment, punctuality and discipline. “There aren’t enough Saudis with these features to go around. And what strikes me as strange is you’ve got people filling the press with complaints of no jobs and unemployment. We’re right here and willing to employ but are they willing to abide by work ethics and work?”
“Work ethics is highly needed,” said Dr. Saeed Al-Ghamdi, vice president of Abdul Latif Jameel Company. “There is the utmost need for Saudi youth to learn work ethics such as commitment, meeting objectives, time management, and dealing with their co-workers and their employers.”
When asked what were the weakest work ethic points in young Saudis, Al-Ghamdi said: “First comes time-management; second relations with co-workers and employers; then their hazardous ways of making decisions without considering consequences such as sudden job changes without any prior warning.”
Unemployed Nizar Abdul Majeed said: “If we’re going to talk about work ethics, then we should talk about it for everyone, employees and employers alike. I lost one job and left another because the employers and senior officials expect and demand things from me that they don’t give in return — hard work, commitment, respect,” he said heatedly. “How can you demand of others what you don’t do yourself?”
“The principal needs intensive courses in work ethics,” said Shaden Faisal, a teacher at a prominent girls’ school. “She comes late, isn’t consistent and we do all the hard work. Plus, no one taught me work ethics; to me ethics are ethics, at work, on the street, or at home. If you’ve ethics that’s it; you apply them everywhere you are. Work would be easier if the principal and my co-workers had work ethics. At least I wish I’d get recognition and appreciation for my hard work.”
Abdul Aziz Al-Harthy, owner of Al-Wasila Al-Zatia Est., an employment agency, said: “Those who are familiar and have work ethics are the ones who get jobs the quickest. A high school graduate with work ethics who is clean, polite, hard working and organized is better at finding and keeping his job than an employee with higher academic qualifications and no work ethics at all.”
